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Tru-Spec has come out with a lot of new material designs in the last couple years, it’s yet another thing people don’t always comprehend when shopping online, especially guys that don’t know fabrics. There are lightweight pants, and there are heavy weight pants, but there are a lot of in between fabrics. The Tru-Spec Delta Pants are not what I would consider “heavy” but since the majority of people always want lightweight clothing, considering that so much of the United States is in for a cold winter, you gotta switch from lightweight to something warmer and Tru-Spec has you covered.

People will always have their preferences in fit and pocket design, but the selling points for this pant is that it has spandex built into the the cotton fabric, which gives you a softer and more flexible feel. There is no ripstop in this pant like so many other pants in this industry, and it’s a layer of clothing you are going to wish you had if you are working in 15 F temperatures. The Tru-Spec Delta Pants are available in Khaki, Black and Coyote are priced at $54.95.

Most of this industry is full of 65/35 polyester cotton ripstop. If you didn’t know that, check the labels on your Propper, 5.11, Tru-Spec, Blackhawk and Vertx Pants. You are starting to see other materials being introduced, primarily lycra which gives material a little bit more stretch, many practicing martial arts are finding this to suit them well. The Tru-Spec Ascent pants and the 5.11 Stryke Pant are two of the more popular styles we see selling. These pants are not going to keep you warm in the winter though. I’ve done enough security gigs where I was reminding myself that on the next shift its time to switch to another material because those 1am-7am shifts can be painfully cold compared to sunny afternoon work.

I have to be honest, the Tru-Spec pants that sell the most are the lighter weight products, but if you are use to wearing the 24/7 Series Tactical Pants, there is an all cotton canvas pant with the exact same pocket patters that is available. There is another style they just came out with last year called the Delta, it’s a nice pant but we know that people always have their preferences with pocket patterns. One of the major negatives of the Tru-Spec pants product line is all the variations in hand pocket angles and depths. We’ve seen a lot of people complain that when they try to add to their Tru-Spec pants wardrobe, that there are too many variations of wallet pockets and hand pockets that it’s hard to pocket carry in some of the styles and access to hand pockets can be inhibited if you are wearing a paddle holster. OWB Holsters can also inhibit access to the knife pockets that they design on some of their pants. (Hint) That’s why Blackhawk and 5.11 Tactical and many others, have pockets forward of the hand pockets. It’s a good quality product line but you’re going to have to pick and choose what works for you.

There are tons of tactical pants to choose from, but there are not that many we can say are good for everything. We’ve been around long enough to see companies come and go, but as much as we have have our preferences, not everyone will be happy with just one brand. We’ve done a brutal analysis of various tactical clothing companies, from Rothco, Tru-Spec, UnderArmor, 5.11 Tactical and Vertx. Every brand has there own targeted market, but we’ve seen many people tend to lean towards the lower profile clothing because if you can wear it more, you are going to use it more. Sometimes just a chance of color on a style makes the difference in your perceived profile.

Tru-Spec makes a quality product and is worth looking into, but they have a few duds from time to time. With how competitive the tactical clothing industry is, price points and quality control is where it is at. My personal preference in the Tru-Spec product line is towards the Tru-Spec (what was the Gunny Signature Series Boot Cut Pant) and is now called the Tru-Spec Mens Tactical Boot Cut Trousers, these have deep hand pockets for pocket carry, and larger knife pockets and makes a great EDC carry pant. I do find that if you are carrying a sidearm on the strong side you might have issues with using the designed knife pockets which is why many other companies move pockets towards the front, like the 5.11 TDU pants and the Propper Kinetic Pants do, I wish Tru-Spec would design things like these but they still have some good stuff.

The weather patterns across the United States varies. Here in the Northeast we get 4-6 seasons. Most operators are wearing lightweight clothing because they are moving all the time and sweating. There are big differences in all the materials used in various tactical pants but the most common is 65/35 polyester/cotton ripstop. While I can tell you why it is the most common, it is not the most popular because it does not have the best reputation of being all that lightweight in 85F and up temperatures. It is an easy maintenance pant that doesn’t wrinkle like some other fabrics and it’s also very resistant to absorbing moisture. Tru-Spec pants can be made from varying types of polyester cotton ripstop, 100% nylon, 100% cotton and cotton canvas and lycra.

When the temperatures drop up here, the Tru-Spec original pant is an easy switch over because the pocket patterns are identical to the polyester cotton ripstop but the material is heavier and warmer. If you are out on the range from October-March here in Pennsylvania, the last thing you want to wear is ripstop pants. You’ll feel that cold wind blow right through you on the course. If you are running and gunning and stop for long periods of time that’s when you’ll wish you had the Tru-Spec pants in 8.5oz Cotton Canvas.

There are always new materials and fabrics coming out that have improvements in stretch, flame retardants or breathability. Cotton is always very good for breathability which is why t-shirts and jeans and t-shirts and shorts are not going to go away in hot climates, but they have their drawbacks. One of the major issues with all cotton products is that always shrink to some degree. 65%/35% polyester/cotton clothing won’t shrink so much, but there area always quality control variations depending on the brands. We are often asked what the differences are between Rothco Combat Shirts, Tru-Spec Combat shirts, 5.11 Combat Shirts and Condor Combat Shirts. There are plenty more out there but we know that not everyone is going to drop $100 or more on a shirt.

There is a huge crossover market which many of the products we sell, but we don’t always sell the most expensive products and we always avoid going to low on quality. The first thing I’d have to say when looking for a combat shirt is the Tru-Spec Combat shirts that outsell any other type are the 1/4 Zip Combat shirts. If you are wearing body armor you are going to wish you had that feature when you are sweating up a storm. There are several military units that are actually issued these shirts in Multicam so you know they have a very high approval rate. There are big differences in the layout of the sleeves from brand to brand, pocket patterns and fit, so this is something that people either dislike, or it closes the sale. The Multicam 1/4 Zip Combat shirts are sold in either a Polyester/Cotton Ripstop or a Nylon/Cotton Ripstop. There is a Standard Combat Shirt, Winter Combat Shirt and the new Urban Force TRU combat shirt. The main reason is that some military and police forces want they nylon/cotton material for added flame resistances, Tru-Spec demos this on a youtube.

We choose Tru-Spec over many of the other brands based on 2 factors, price point, and quality control. We never hear about sizing inconsistencies, but there are different “fits” for some of the styles. Primarily the differences between the 24/7 Series and some of the Military BDU sizing. There is a broad selection of fabric differences, the biggest being the 65/35 Polyester Cotton Ripstop. While this material does not breath as well as 100% nylon or 100% cotton ripstop, it is definitely in the lightweight pant category. There is also a all cotton style in the 24/7 Series Tru-Spec Pants that is good for winter weather.

There are always going to be preferences on pocket patterns, and that’s our customers decision. The standard Tru-Spec Pants in the 24/7 Series has been around a long time, but I have, along with many local Federal Agencies prefer the Tru-Spec Boot cut pants “formerly know as the Gunny Boot Cut Pants” because the wallet or ID pocket has a traditional pant look, the knife pockets are slightly larger and the BDU pocket has a much more modern design for stowing phones, mag dumps or handcuffs. The Tru-Spec Eclipse pant is 100% nylon and an excellent pant for hot and humid weather and for keeping bugs off of your legs without having to load up on bug spray, We’ve had a lot of Agencies in Haiti and even Pennsylvania Game Commission buying this style.

If you’re looking for something extremely light weight while we transition into hot weather clothing season, this is the best thing besides wearing shorts. The pocket designs are completely different than anything else in the Tru-Spec inventory but it is something I personally wear and highly suggest for hot weather. The 100% nylon pant is so lightweight that I would not recommend it for pocket carry unless you put a piece of cardboard or or something that helps avoid printing because you will print in these. There is a 65/35 poly cotton ripstop version of this pant but I don’t find it as cutting edge. Tru-Spec 24-7 SERIES ECLIPSE TACTICAL PANTS is best worn in the nylon style but it is extremely forgiving in hot weather.

I always have to transition my knife to the side leg pockets and my Kimber pepper blaster to the other leg pocket but theses are extremely popular in the lower half of the Country. Tru-Spec 24-7 SERIES ECLIPSE TACTICAL PANTS is highly breathable and when it’s in the 90F range, the difference in sweating and fatigue is considerable. This is something I consider as a trade off for much of the 100% cotton ripstop pants that were in my inventory. There is no elastic waistband so you are going to have to be more accurate in finding your actual size and if you are going to be carrying IWB you are going to have to consider a size up.

There aren’t many companies that are invested in the competition world like Tru-Spec. Sure some companies can donate products or sponsor shooters, but not everyone is developing products for them. It’s not just about comfort, it’s not just about price point, it’s about having pockets in places that are useful and make doing mag changes faster, and make you win. Some tactical pants can be useful if you if you have large BDU type pockets and use it as a mag dump, but good luck trying to find pants that actually hold AR15 style magazines in the actual pockets.

There are several new pants that came out from Tru-Spec that are very different from there usual product development and the Tru-Spec Vector pants are one of them. These are definitely an over-kill for CCW or casual, but they are outstanding if you need pants that you can stow handgun and rifle mags in. We have a Youtube video from Tru-Spec that shows how the product looks, some of it’s design features ect, so check that out while you’re at it. Instead of having to pick up extra mag pouches, why not pick up Tru-Spec Vector pants and see how much you can carry for $54.95 a pair.

Years ago I remember people complaining how SHOT Show was saturated with tactical clothing. I’d have to say that I don’t think that’s the case anymore. Several years ago 5.11 Tactical raised the prices of their clothing by 25% and I can’t count the times I’ve heard people say that 5.11 is getting too expensive. Vertx use to be popular with military contractors but there aren’t as many people deployed and we don’t get asked to carry them like we use to. I think you can pretty much say that the sweet spot for most people’s spending budget is around $50 or less, for a pair of pants, and that’s where the majority of the Tru-Spec Pants are priced at. Even though 5.11 still has some very well made and designed products, its far above what we see the average Police Officer willing to spend.

If you haven’t been paying attention to what President Trump has been saying about China and foreign manufacturing vs Made in the USA, you had to raise your prices when cotton shot up over 200% at one point and some Countries have a monopoly on manufacturing of clothing. We saw several companies get out of the business in the last 5yrs because the military cut backs had huge impacts on how many people were wearing this stuff. Tru-Spec owns their own factory and I’ve never seen sticker shock with any of their products.

We picked up the Tru-Spec line several years ago, and in our neck of the woods, they didn’t have the name recognition that Propper, 5.11 or even Rothco. All you have to do is check around Facebook and see how many “Likes” a company has to know how many people are wearing it or know about it. When we first picked up Tru-Spec they had several products that we tested out that gave us something at a better price point than 5.11, even though the product line was not as diverse as 5.11 or the now defunct Woolrich Elite Series.

If you do a quick check over at Tru-Spec’s Facebook page you can see how highly invested they are in competition sports and coming out with New products. The pace seems to have picked up in the last 2yrs and and recently there have been several new Tru-Spec Pants that we are going to bring on to inventory because we think it’s going to gain traction. Tru-Spec Vector Pants and the Tru-Spec Delta pants they kind of took a hint from the popular Blackhawk Tactical Pants that were extremely popular years ago, but like many companies, Blackhawk got out of the business (they seem to want to get back in, in 2017 though). The New Vector-Poly/Cotton, and Delta-All Cotton with spandex pants, have a silicone liner that keep your shirt tucked in and with Winter being in full swing, it’s nice to put an end to that feeling of having cold air sneak up your back because your shirt is coming out. That’s a major selling point for people that actually work in this stuff. I’m also glad they came out with something else besides another Poly/Cotton pant.

This was actually the first pant that I “really” liked that Tru-Spec made. There is kind of a trademark design that Tru-Spec always had with the way their pockets were cut, and this was more of a design that I preferred due to the rear wallet pockets having a straight look and not the angled cut that the majority of the Tru-Spec 24/ Series pants had. The BDU Pockets are also designed differently with an open slotted pocket on the outside and a larger BDU pocket behind it. Now that so many people are carrying cell phones this was an easy access pocket for something just like that. Once you star wearing clothing like this you don’t really need a belt cell phone carrier anymore.

This is something that people really have a preference over and often ask for the boot cut or non-boot cut. Just like there are differences in the way jeans are designed, not all tactical clothing companies have the same cut, or fit, even if the waist sizes are the same. Tru-Spec Men’s Tactical Boot Cut Pants are available in Black or Khaki and also still in the $44.95 dollar range, there are also several other fit designs within the Tru-Spec product line so if one isn’t for you, you still have other styles like the Tru-Spec Ascent, Tru-Spec Eclipse and Tru-Spec Simply Tactical.